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The playoffs are the stage where the greatest players have excelled throughout NBA history. Whether you're on Michael Jordan's or LeBron James' side in the pointless-but-fun GOAT debate, you'd easily recognize that both have unique postseason accomplishments.
In the current playoffs, we're seeing Luka Doncic guide the Dallas Mavericks to levels the franchise hasn't recently explored. They hadn't advanced to the second round since their 2011 championship, and the Slovenian has fans in awe.
Moreover, players like the Miami Heat's Jimmy Butler can certainly find a different gear in the playoffs. The Heat's star has put up tremendous numbers in the postseason with great efficiency. He's not always putting up unreal numbers in the regular season, but Butler can really play winning basketball on the biggest stage.
Top 3 players in terms of highest Player Efficiency Rating (PER) in NBA Playoffs history
In this article, we will look at advanced stats and give you the three players with the highest Player Efficiency Rating in playoff history.
The Athletic's John Hollinger created the PER, and he defines it like this:
"The PER sums up all a player's positive accomplishments, subtracts the negative accomplishments and returns a per-minute rating of a player's performance."
Without further ado, let us take a look.
No. 3: LeBron James
LeBron James has had a fantastic career. Defining it as fantastic may still be an understatement, given what he has accomplished individually and collectively since debuting in 2003 as an 18-year-old.
James ranks second all-time in Player Efficiency Rating, and he slides just a bit off in the playoffs, ranking third with a 28.24 PER, according to Basketball Reference.
"The King" is the all-time leader in games (266) and points (7,631) in the NBA playoffs, and he's won four championships and four Finals MVP awards. Moreover, James has averaged 28.7 points, 9.0 rebounds and 7.2 assists in his postseason career.
No. 2: George Mikan
Obviously, the PER did not exist during George Mikan's NBA career (from 1948 to 1956). Plus, it is difficult to judge his score compared to some stats of the new era. For example, blocks and steals weren't tracked, and many rules, including free-throw rules, were different.
Anyway, Mikan ranks second in playoff history in PER with a 28.51 score.
The BAA/NBA's first superstar won five titles with the Minneapolis Lakers throughout his unique career. He averaged 24.0 ppg and 13.9 rpg in the postseason.
No. 1: Michael Jordan
The greatest player in NBA history in the minds of many, Michael Jordan, owns the highest career postseason PER, with a 28.6.
Jordan also has the highest PER in regular-season history, with a 27.91, but he was certainly incredible in the playoffs. He won six championships with the Chicago Bulls in six finals appearances, winning the Finals MVP award a record six times.
In his successful playoff career, Jordan averaged an all-time high 33.4 ppg, and he also owns the single-season postseason scoring average, with 43.6 in 1986. He also scored 63 points in a first-round game in 1986. That's still a record for a playoff game.
